Stella was just putting out some drinks in the backyard when people started to arrive. Or actually, her dad's closest friends and their families started to arrive, so she couldn't really count them as party-goers, because she knew they would come long before the party started anyway.

She was delighted when she saw Braden walking towards her. "Hey, you came." She looked over his outfit. She couldn't really say who he was supposed to be, but the clothes looked good on him. Not as good as his ripped flannel that showed off his chest, but still. "Nice hair, dude."

He chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, it's not really my style, but it's fun for one night."

She remembered something her dad had said earlier at dinner. "Hey, did you get arrested for the frat house thing after I left?"

"Oh yeah, cops showed up like ten minutes after you'd gone. It okay though, they didn't catch me in the act and they dropped me off at my dad's house." He shrugged like it was nothing. She didn't doubt he had been imprisoned before.

"So how'd it go with your dad?"

He leaned one hand against the table and out the other in his back pocket. "It was fine. We talked about some stuff and got some pizza. He's actually pretty cool."

"I'm glad you feel better about it." She was about to take his hand, but remembered that there were people around them. "I should go change, now that everything is done. You can just hang out here until I get back. But I don't mean that like you have to hang out with me when I get back; you can do whatever you want. And you don't have to stay here- I just meant it's probably best if you stay in the garden because this is where the party will take place once people get here. But you don't have to stay here unless you want to. I think I'm gonna go inside now." True to her word she practically ran inside.

What the hell was that?! She had been rambling for no good reason without taking a single breath. She hadn't even been talking about anything important. Something about Braden Higgins made her so damn nervous for no reason that she couldn't even act like a normal human being.

She quickly changed into her costume and came back out again. There she found Bean and Becky occupying Braden, making him spin them around in circles, all of them looking like they were having the time of their lives. He looked up when he heard her laughing, and dropped the kids when he saw her. She winced a bit, hoping they were okay. They got up after only a second and ran off in the other direction, so they must have been.

Braden got closer, looking her over. "Wow, you look really good."

She blushed at his words and tried to hide it behind her dark brown hair. "You really think so?" She looked down at her Daisy Duke outfit.

"Yeah, totally." The way he looked at her made her get butterflies in her stomach.

Stella hadn't been so sure when she picked this outfit, but now she was very happy she had. Not only because Braden obviously liked it, but also for the way it made her feel when she wore it. Stella liked to dress similar to her mother: a tiny bit bolder than was appropriate for everyday situations. She had her mother's built and curves (thankfully) and she liked to show them off. Not because she was fishing for compliments or looking for attention, but because it made her feel sexy and confident.

She was now wearing high heels and very short jeans shorts. Her shirt was flannel with one too many buttons undone and the ends were tied around her stomach. To be honest, she had partly chosen this outfit to get the reaction from Braden that she was getting right now. He was staring at her shamelessly, and she didn't mind at all.

Their little moment was interrupted when a raft of all things flew out of Lamonsoff's fanny pack and struck all the guys around him to the ground. He then proceeded to jump up on a small table, which fell when it couldn't bare his weight. When they were all done laughing about it Lenny noticed her and Braden watching them.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold it right there, young lady." He jogged up to her. "What happened to the rest of your clothes? Did the dog eat them or something?"

She looked down on her outfit. It looked fine to her. "What do you mean?"

"You're not seriously gonna wear that, are you? I mean, there's going to be people around. Don't you think it's a little revealing?"

"No, I think it's just fine." She turned to Braden. "What do you think?" She brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up at her face. He just shook his head at her question, not wanting to get involved in an argument between father and daughter.

"See, that's exactly what I want to avoid," Lenny pointed at Braden. "I don't want guys staring at you like you're a piece of meat. It's disrespectful."

This confused her. "Shouldn't you be telling those guys not to stare at me instead of telling me how to dress?"

His shoulders slouched and he sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're technically right, but I still think you're a bit young to be wearing that. So I'm telling you now to go change."

She crossed her arms over her chest, now getting seriously pissed off. "Or what, dad? Are you gonna send me to my room?" As soon as she said the words a brilliant idea came into her head. As long as her dad acted the way she knew he would.

"That's exactly what I'm gonna do! You march up there right now, young lady, and you don't come down again until you're wearing something decent!"

Bingo. She huffed like she was upset. "Fine!" She stomped towards the house, saying stuff under her breath like she was cursing him. When she came to the door she looked back. Lenny had gone back to his friends, but Braden still watched her. She motioned for him to follow her. When he came inside, she took his hand and led him up the stairs, looking out for any other family members.

"Where are we going?" he whispered.

She led him into her bedroom and closed the door behind them. "Dad doesn't want me at the party unless I change, but I don't really feel like changing, so I thought we could have a party of our own." As soon as the words left her mouth the gleam of mischief in her eyes was replaced by doubt. Maybe he would think she was silly.

His warm chuckle reassured her that was not his opinion. "I think that's a great idea. I'd rather be up here with you than down in a sea of people I don't know."

She let out the breath she'd been holding.

"What kind of party did you have in mind?" he asked. She saw that he was glancing at her bed out of the corner of his eye. Though she'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it, that activity might be taking it a step too far, considering they'd met about six hours ago.

"Um, not that kind of party," she pointed to the bed.

He looked around her room. "That's cool. I was just checking."

Stella was happy that he actually meant it. There was no malice in his voice and he was respectful to her wishes. Not the kind of guy you meet every day, she mused. Not the kind of guy you'd expect him to be, she mused happily.

"So what do you want to do?"

She threw her arms in the air. "I don't know. I hadn't gotten that far in my planning when I brought you up here. I just didn't want to change and I didn't want to be alone." She walked up to the window and looked down on the back yard. The first drove of people had arrived. "I guess it was kind of unfair to drag you up here without a plan. You can go back down if you want."

"Nah." He sat down on her bed and stared flipping through the sketchbook she'd left on the pillow earlier. "I like hanging out with you." He looked at a few of her drawings. "Did you make all of these?"

She sat down next to him and saw he was looking at her sketches of evening gowns. "Yeah. My mom's a fashion designer, so she helps me out when I feel like drawing clothes."

He fell into silence as he flipped through the book. Stella fought the urge to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Can I fix your hair?"

He looked up. "What?"

"Your hair is really bothering me. I mean, your normal hair is great, but this style is not the best one, for you or anyone else. No offence."

He chuckled. "None taken, I'm not entirely happy about it either. Do what you want, as long as I don't have to move."

"Deal." She leaped off the bed and fetched a hairbrush. She spent the next ten minutes brushing the gel out of his hair. Honestly, it had only taken five minutes to finish, but the other half was just for fun. She found that she loved to run the brush through his soft, blond locks. He didn't seem to mind it either. When she was done she threw the brush to the armchair at the other side of the room.

"There, now you look like yourself again."

She was about to say something more, but totally forgot what it was when he turned around and kissed her. She gladly gave in and moved her lips against his. She put her arms around his neck and lied down on the bed, pulling him on top of her.

"I thought this wasn't that kind of party," he mumbled between kisses.

"We don't have to go all the way, we can just stay like this."

And they did. They spent the next hour or so making out on her bed, and every once in a while they took a breathing pause, during which they got to know each other better. Stella told him about how she felt slightly judged by her family for being the only own who didn't want to go to college, and she found out about his secret dream of becoming a fireman. Imagining him in one of those uniforms made her all hot and bothered again, which led to another round of making out and exploring hands.

They were taking a break, sitting face to face with their legs crossed on her bed, when someone knocked on her door and it opened.

"Hey sweetie, how're you… What the hell is he doing here?" her father looked at them perplexed.

Stella silently thanked God he had chosen this moment to check in on her, and not two minutes earlier.

"We're just talking, dad. Braden was nice enough to keep me company up here so I wouldn't get bored." He looked suspicious. "We've just been talking," she reassured him slowly, making sure he heard her correctly.

"Do I have your word on that?"

"Yes, you have my word on that." She didn't think of it as lying to her father. More like protecting him from a truth he wasn't ready to hear.

"Alright," he didn't sound entirely convinced. "I just put your sister to bed. Thought I should come in here and tell you I had a little talk with your mother. She agrees with you that I over reacted, so now I'm here apologizing and inviting you back down to join the party. The band just got here."

Good old mom- Stella could always count on her. It was hilarious how afraid dad was of her.

"Okay, thanks dad. We'll be right down."

"Right," he nodded, slowly walking out of her room. He quickly popped his head in again about five seconds later.

"Dad, I said we'll be there."

"I know, just checking." He left for real this time.

She giggled at his slightly overprotective behavior. Any other boy would be tense in a situation like this, but Braden looked totally relaxed. Probably because he didn't care what anyone thought of him, but she appreciated that he hadn't given her dad a heart attack by telling him the truth.

"Come on, let's go downstairs," she grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bed.

In the doorway he stopped her. "Wait, I gotta tell you something. I was just about to, but your dad walked in." She waited for him to continue. "Earlier by the quarry, when you said it was your first kiss," he swallowed a lump, "It was my first kiss too."

He'd whispered the last part, but she'd heard him.

"What? Are you serious?" She refused to believe him. "How is that even possible?" There was no way in hell someone as hot as him had never been kissed.

He looked at the floor. "Guess anyone I've wanted to kiss has been too scared of me."

She doubted that was the only reason. Sure, he was scary when he was angry, but her time with him now had proved he could be very sweet when he wanted to. It probably had something to do with his self-esteem, which she had figured out was pretty low. Every time he found someone to kiss that little voice in his head must have made him question why anyone would want someone like him, and it became a classic situation of Hurt them before they hurt me.

All thoughts of not showing him any pity went out the window. Stella wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and hug him tight and tell him everything was going to be okay. But instead she cupped his cheek and kissed him. "Come on. I want you to dance with me."